Lentil Loaf

I am lucky enough to have been raised as a vegetarian since I was born (more on that here) - having found anything in life difficult to give up, I have massive respect for those who chose a vegetarian diet and gave up meat. As a child in the 1980's there were few shortcuts for vegetarians and we ate a lot of home-cooked meals based on recipes by writers like Rose Elliot and veggie pioneers, Cranks. I don't know exactly where the original recipe came from, but a staple of our menu at home was something Mum and Dad called 'Lentil Bake'. It ticked all the boxes for Neil from the Young One's list of vegetarian stereotypes - it had lentils in it, it took ages to make and it was very, well, brown! 

Inspired by memories of this dish, I played with the recipe handed down to me and added a few extras to make this SP Sunday Dinner delight! It is not a looker and certainly won't wow a crowd, but it really is tasty and the heavy-handed approach to herbs is a deliberate move as it gives this a really savoury edge needed with lots of veg. It slices into chunky rustic portions when still warm, but is also lovely cold with salad, when it is firm enough to cut into nice delicate slices that seem a bit more refined! It is great to have in the fridge for SP days (or normal Extra Easy plan days) as it is syn-free, savoury and feels really 'solid' when you really feel the need for a substantial snack or quick meal. 

The red onion gravy I made and served here was just finely chopped red onions fried in a little spray

oil to soften before adding a tsp of balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp of ruby port, 1 tsp dried rosemary and 2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder. I let this cook down slightly then added boiling water and 1 tsp of marmite to the mix and then simmered for the time the loaf was in the oven. It doesn't thicken much - you could use Bisto Powder if you wish (but it has potato starch in so was a no-no for me in terms of SP suitability) or cornflower (but I didn't have any) - both would need to be synned. The ruby port works out at 1.5 syns for the whole lot and I had less than half of the batch so minimal syns from that ingredient, but I'd recommend including it does give it a lovely rich flavour.

As with all recipes and meal plans on the blog I have highlighted the protein sources (P foods) in red, the speed (S) foods in green, healthy extra allowances in blue and syns, with syn values in brackets in orange. 

Lentil Loaf

Serves 6 - syn-free. 

125g red lentils

2 eggs

1 large leek, cleaned and sliced

1 1/2 pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 portobello mushroom, peeled and thickly sliced

1 red onion, finely chopped

Spray oil 

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp dried basil

2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

1 heaped tsp marmite

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees fan / 220 degrees electric / Gas Mark 7.

Put the lentils into a large pan with about 2 times their volume of water. Stir in the bouillon, all the herbs and the marmite and bring it all to the boil.

Whilst this is coming to the boil, heat some spray oil in a non-stick frying pan and then gently fry the leeks, onions and peppers. When this starts to dry out add the soy sauce to prevent it catching and add some flavour to the veg. Put to one side once cooked. 

Once the lentils have come to the boil, turn down to a lower heat to simmer for about 15 minutes until the lentils have softened -if they start to run dry, add further boiling water a small splash at a time, to avoid it becoming too runny. 

At the point that the lentils have cooked right through and begun to break down into the water to form a thick mixture take off the heat and beat in the two eggs and the vegetables and allow to stand for a moment. 

Spray oil into a loaf tin, then lay the slices of mushroom along the base of the tin.

Carefully ladle the lentil mixture into the tin over the mushrooms, tapping the sides to level the mixture. Fill the tin as far as the mixture will go then lay any remaining mushrooms on the top and spray with a further 4 sprays of oil. 

Put into the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes - watching carefully to ensure the top doesn't catch. 

At 30 mins insert a sharp knife or a wooden skewer into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out largely clean it is cooked. 

This makes a very moist mixture, largely because I don't like dusty, dry lentil dishes, so don't worry if this doesn't come out cleanly from the tin - mine didn't but still tasted lush!